Dignataries, including Chairman Yim Jong-yong of the Financial Service Commission (FSC), KRX Chairman Choi Kyung-soo, and other financial leaders, participate in a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of opening the stock & derivatives market at the KRX building in Yeouido on Jan. 4. (Photos: KRX)

The KRX will step on the gas in efforts to become a holding company this year and complete its IPO in the first half of 2017, Chairman Choi Kyung-soo said at a Jan. 21 media briefing. 

The KRX will build a mediatory system for M&As and a system to help start-ups. It will also help the venture capital market in Korea do its part to help spur the government’s Creative Economy Drive.

The stock market authority will also expand tie-ups with foreign stock exchanges in such areas as stock transaction exchanges. At the same, the KRX will reform the stock market and investment environment to the standards of advanced nations.

The KRX will also try to spur the stock market by inviting many unlisted firms to hold IPOs to list their shares at the stock market and develop diverse new products to suit the needs of the investors to boost the capital market transactions.

The KRX will also try to find new growth engines and foster their growth and diversify the operational structure of the Korea Exchange by developing diverse new businesses this year.

The Korea Exchange IPO market is likely to be hot this year, with the likes of Lotte Hotel leading the list of companies going public in 2016, Vice President Kim Won-dae of the Korea Exchange said on Jan. 20. The number of public offerings is expected to be around 20, about the same number as last year. That includes LS Cable and System Asia and Intercourse. Also, this year foreign companies are expected to go public on the Korean exchange, the vice president said at a launching ceremony of the task force set up to invite foreign firms to list on the KRX.

The task force, made of foreign experts, will invite foreign firms in Asia, especially those from Vietnam and Indonesia, to list their shares on the KRX. The KRX expects the number IPOs to increase, considering that many companies put off their listings late last year due to market conditions. The task force was set up because the number of foreign firms listing their shares on the KRX has been well below what was expected since the listing of SBI Mortgage in April 2012. Officials said that now a golden time to attract more foreign firms to the Korean bourse. 

A survey found that around 15 firms would go public in the first half of 2016 while only five IPOs are slated for the second half.

The KRX plans to complete a review of the applications for the IPOs by the third quarter to give firms more flexibility when it comes to the timing of their IPOs.

Four firms are expected to list their shares in the first quarter, 11 in the second quarter, two in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter.

South Korea’s stock exchange is revamping its structured note offering as it taps demand for rival over-the-counter products that have fallen prey to shaky markets.